Since Spring 2011 local residents and visitors to Camden Arts Centre have been working with erect architecture and artist Ashley McCormick to explore the conditions of the wild edges of the Camden Arts Centre in order to develop interventions which will enable new ways of looking, learning, and being in this space

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

Seeing whilst unseen

On April 1st, Year 1 and 3 pupils from Holy Trinity Primary School began exploring the wilder spaces of Camden Arts Centre with Ashley and Susanne from erect architecture. Pupils looked closely at the conditions of the space in Spring, playing I Spy, drawing details and devising list of words to describe the spaces - wild, dangerous, spooky, forest, woods, green, crazy, dark, scary...

In the galleries we were thrilled by Pino Pascali's strange sculptures. Pupils observed that the artist uses a mix of natural and man made materials. He enlarges and expands familiar images to giant proportions. But the giant 'spider' sculpture, the biggest we have ever seen, seems more playful than threatening because the artist made it with bright blue fake fur fabric. Pupils speculated that a giant 'mushroom' sculpture might house fairies and small woodland animals, and a steelwool net might trap wild animals.

Inspired by Pino Pascali's use of everyday materials and taking advice from the classic song - Teddy Bears Picnic, we developed camouflage disguises that would allow us to venture closer into the wild spaces of the garden, in order to see whilst unseen.

We didn't find any teddy bears picnic, but other surprises included ants, bees, logs, tiny buds, bushes and a 'mystery tree of the unknown'.